Housing starts in BC slowed to begin the year from a torrid pace is 2016. Starts were down 33 per cent on a monthly basis and 13 per cent year-over-year, though unseasonably high snowfall in December and January likely played a role in limiting construction activity. Single detached starts were down 36 per cent while multiple unit starts were down 5 per cent year-over-year.

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a record 112,209 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in 2016, an increase of 9.5 per cent from the previous year.

“From a real estate perspective, it’s a lukewarm start to the year compared to 2016,” Dan Morrison, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) president said. “While we saw near record-breaking sales at this time last year, home buyers and sellers are more reluctant to engage so far in 2017.”

“As prices rose in the first half of the year, public debate waged about what was fuelling demand and what should be done to stop it. This led to multiple government interventions into the market. The long-term effects of these actions won’t be fully understood for some time.” Dan Morrison, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) president said.

The vacancy rate across the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) slipped from 0.8% in October 2015 to 0.7% a year later, according to a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation report released November 28.

“Job growth in key commercial sectors and robust consumer demand led the CLI higher in the third quarter," said BCREA Economist Brendon Ogmundson." A rising CLI points to continued strength in BC commercial real estate activity in 2017."

Housing starts in BC jumped 72 per cent higher to 44,019 SAAR following a dip in October. Starts were up 64 per cent on a year-over-year basis as single detached starts rose 11 per cent and multiple unit starts nearly doubled.

Home buyer and seller activity remains near historical averages in the Metro Vancouver housing market.

“While 2016 has been anything but a normal year for the Metro Vancouver housing market, supply and demand totals have returned to more historically normal levels over the last few months,” said Dan Morrison, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) president.

Reduced home sale and listing activity are changing market dynamics in communities across Metro Vancouver.

“Changing market conditions compounded by a series of government interventions this year have put home buyers and sellers in a holding pattern,” Dan Morrison, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) president said. “Potential buyers and sellers are taking a wait-and-see approach to try and better understand what these changes mean for them.”

Canada’s residential real estate market continued to grow in the third quarter of 2016, posting a double-digit year-over-year aggregate house price increase, according to the Royal LePage House Price Survey[1] released today. The Government of British Columbia’s new 15 per cent property transfer surtax on foreign nationals and foreign-controlled corporations, introduced early in the quarter, has contributed to slower sales activity but has had little impact to-date on Greater Vancouver home prices, which led the country in appreciation with year-over-year home prices increasing by 30.6 per cent in the quarter. While Ontario considers implementing a similar tax, over the same period house price increases in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) also remained strong, increasing 13.6 per cent.

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 8,553 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in September, up 12 per cent from the same month last year.

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 10,174 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in May, up 16.6 per cent from the same month last year. Total sales dollar volume was $6.4 billion, a 30.4 per cent increase in comparison to the previous year. The average MLS® residential price in the province rose to $632,182, an 11.8 per cent increase since last May.